In the Magic Glow of London
by FutureCompanion
Summary: An obsessed fangirl goes on vacation to London in search of real magic and adventure. What happens when she actually finds it? Amethyst Elore is in London when hideous green creatures come to attack and finds herself aided by someone who may actually be more delusional than she is. M for later chapters. 10th/O.C.
1. Prologue

Part of me knew going to London was a bad idea, though not for the reasons to come. I had been dreaming of that city for years. All of my favorite obsessions came out of there and I wanted to visit to find the magic hidden down those city streets. In the back of my mind I dreamed of rounding a corner and ending up in Diagon Alley, or walking into a pub and sitting down next to Gwen Cooper, or maybe hearing the whoosh of those familiar engines before seeing that magical blue box materialize.

Silly dreams. I knew that.

It is for that reason I almost cancelled my trip. Part of me was afraid of getting to London and finding just another dirty, overpopulated, city devoid of magic. I would finally see the truth and the spell I had been under would shatter, leaving me confused and unable to pick up the pieces. That was the logical part of my brain, trying to reiterate what I already knew to be true.

_Magic isn't real. You are wasting your time, and are going to break the illusion._

But, there was that other tiny part of me I told you about… that little whisper in the back of my head, urging me to believe. So I decided to go for it. To take a leap of faith and go on the search to prove there is more than the eye can see.

Perhaps that was ridiculous, or foolish, or just full-out insane. In fact, I'm sure it was all of those things, and I have only one defense:

_I'm human._


	2. The Invasion

I arrived in London on a Tuesday, and by Thursday I was growing impatient.

The city was more beautiful than I had anticipated, the architecture held it's own sort of magic. I went sightseeing to all the places I'd dreamed of: the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben to name a few. They were amazing, and mystical, but I felt like I was missing something. I could sense something else around me wherever I went, something hiding just out of sight. I kept catching glimpses of shadows that didn't belong. I would watch them out of the corner of my eye, but as soon as I could get a lock on them they would flutter away.

_This has to mean something,_ I told myself.

After a few days of chasing shadows I decided that I had most definitely lost my mind and should probably admit myself to the nearest psychiatric hospital.

The sun was setting and I was slowly wandering around the city, debating whether to notify my family of my newfound insanity, when suddenly all hell broke loose.

People started screaming and rushing past me, terror etched across their faces.

An older woman knocked into me and shot me a confused and scared look. I was caught up in my own head and it took me a moment to understand what was happening.

"Don't just stand there! RUN!" she screamed before hurtling off again.

Panic started to seep into me just a bit as I twisted, trying to find what everyone was running from.

_Is it a terrorist attack? An explosion? I didn't hear anything blow—_

The thought died out as my gaze fell on the approaching threat.

They were over six feet tall, slender, and a slimy green. They had four arms, two on each side, and each arm finished with two long, taloned, claws. They ran using their arms to help gain speed, almost hopping down the street.

Even as the fear began to course through me, it was laced with something else… _excitement._

_This is it, what you have been waiting for. Proof there is more out there. Maybe you aren't crazy after all._

Despite the giddy feeling attempting to overwhelm me, I did realize that these things appeared to be a danger. They were overcoming the running people with ease and striking out with their dangerous claws.

I took a deep breath and darted down the nearest side street. Looking around I spotted a large dumpster and hurried behind it, I needed time to think.

Once safely out of sight, I sank down and buried my head in my hands.

_What is going on? Is this really happening, or have I truly lost it?_

A loud snarl makes my head pop up. I peek around the edge of the dumpster and see several of those creatures heading down my street.

_I need to move._

The following hour is a blur of running, anxiety, and stealth. I made my way through the city, not sure where exactly I was heading, just knowing I needed to keep moving if I wanted to survive. Those things, whatever they were, didn't seem interested in hostages… only casualties.

One street I turned on looked like a warzone. A car crashed into a fire hydrant and water shot into the sky. Debris covered the street. Bits of broken brick were spread out from the side of a smoking building, looking like there might have been an explosion. The air was foggy, but I could still see clear enough.

"Mommy!"

A sharp, young, cry pierced the air followed closely by a guttural growl. My head snapped to the left and I saw a little girl, maybe eight years old, cowered against a building, in the shadow of one of those things.

I didn't see her mother anywhere, and it was clear the creature was about to attack.

"Leave her alone!" I shouted rushing up behind the creature.

It barely spared me a backward glance before reaching one of its arms back and knocking me to the side. I felt a sharp sting on my shoulder where it touched me and looked down to see the slime the thing was covered with, eating through the material of my shirt.

"Help me!" the little girl shouted.

The pain was annoying, but not unbearable, so I ignored it and searched around for a weapon. A few feet from where I was standing lay a three-foot piece of metal piping that looked to have once been a parking meter. I grabbed the metal post and held it like a baseball bat, moving to stand behind the creature.

"I said, leave her alone!" I screamed, swinging the makeshift weapon with all of my might.

It collided with the creature's side, where the ribs should have been, knocking it over. It didn't seem to be unconscious, just disoriented. It sat there, shaking its massive head, trying to regain its bearings.

"Jenna!" someone called from behind me.

A frazzled looking woman in her thirties ran up and scooped the young girl into her arms.

"Thank you," she said, her eyes glazed.

"Of course, but you two had better go. It's getting up," I urged her. "I'll, uh, slow it down. Go!"

The woman gave me a thankful look, murmured another 'thank you' and hurried off with her daughter.

The creature quickly regained its footing, and loomed over me.

"You're not so tough," I assured it, feigning a confidence I didn't feel.

Clicking fangs and snarls were my first warning, but didn't come soon enough. Before I even had the chance to consider running, two more of the creatures flanked on either side of the one advancing towards me. I tightened my grip on the metal pipe and started to back away, slowly.

I swear they grinned at me. Their deformed mouths, filled with gnashing teeth, twisted and conformed into nasty smiles. Black eyes, filled with hatred taunted me, knowing I knew I was a goner. My breath hitched as I backed away.

_Take at least one of them with you,_ I told myself, just as my foot caught a large piece of debris and sent me sprawling onto my backside.

The creature in the middle, the one I had hit, let out a bark of what could only be described as _laughter_, as I tried to crawl backwards away from their approaching forms.

I saw it raise two of its long arms, four of its razor claws, and held up my arm in a last chance effort to block the coming blow.

Unexpectedly, and making no sense whatsoever, the three creatures burst into green ashes.

_What?_

My arm fell to my side and I looked up in astonishment. Standing where just moments before those creatures had been, was the man I had been dreaming about for years.

"David Tennant?" I asked, astonished.

"Who?" He asked, and extended a slender arm to help me up.

I took his hand, positive those creatures must have killed me and I was in heaven.

"Aren't you David Tennant?"

"Me? Nooo," he scoffed, "I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"


	3. Explanations

"I'm Amethyst," I told him, eyeing him in disbelief.

He was wearing his brown pinstriped suit and long overcoat, his hair a trademark mess, and a bemused smirk on his face.

"Amethyst? I've been to your planet! Well, not _your_ planet, but the Amethyst Planet. It is in the same quadrant as Midnight," he rushed, "Midnight is a planet made entirely—"

"Out of diamonds. Yes, I know."

"Do you?" he asked, shocked. "Where are you from?"

He pulled a small device from his pocket and began to scan me.

"Is that your sonic screwdriver? You really take your roles seriously. Did you steal a prop replica of the TARDIS, too?"

He immediately stopped scanning me and gave me a hard look.

"Who are you? Where are you from? And how do you know about my TARDIS?"

"I told you, I'm Amethyst... I'm nobody. I'm from America. And I am pretty sure everybody in this city knows about your TARDIS."

"I don't believe you," he said, childishly crossing his arms.

Unable to resist I rolled my eyes.

"What did you do to those… things?" I asked, looking down at the piles of ash near my feet.

"Like _you_ don't know. I used salt. It dries them out."

He held out a handful of table salt.

"Okaaay… What were they?"

"They are called the Ibachi, they're basically an intergalactic pest who somehow found their way to Earth," he explained. "How do you know about my screwdriver and TARDIS, but not know about the Ibachi?"

"They haven't been on the show."

"What—"

A loud growling from our right interrupted his questioning. An Ibachi rounded the street corner, and I quickly started backing away. Without hesitating, the self-proclaimed Doctor tossed his handful of salt at the creature, turning it to ash.

"You didn't try to reason with it," I noted.

"It is a pest; practically a murderous cockroach. You can't reason with it. Now, I need to get back to the TARDIS to see what is going on here, and you are coming with me."

"Alright."

"Alright? You aren't going to argue with me?"

"Are you kidding me? I don't care if you really are just plain old David Tennant and happened to have lost your mind, I'll follow you anywhere."

"I think you are right about one of us being crazy, but my bet is on the girl swearing to follow a stranger," he told me.

"I just watched my idol save me from a killer gigantic frog beast with a handful of table salt hours after deciding to admit myself to the psych ward… I'm not going to argue about my sanity. I know I've lost it, but I am going to enjoy every wandering second of it."

Before he could respond, a group of ten snarling Ibachi turned onto our street.

"I don't suppose you have enough salt for them, do you?" I asked.

"Uh, no. Run!"

He reached out and grabbed my hand before taking off in the opposite direction of the creatures.

"Always with the running," I muttered, incapable of holding back.

The Ibachi had spotted us and were quickly gaining.

"Through here," he shouted, giving my arm a tug and heading down a dark alley.

We ran between the buildings with the Ibachi close on our heels. At the end of the alley there was a ten-foot chain fence blocking our path.

"We're trapped!" I shouted.

"No. This way." He pulled back a corner of unattached fence, signaling me to go first.

I quickly struggled my way through, with him closely following.

When we rounded the next corner I let out a loud gasp. It was right in front of us.

_The TARDIS._

"Come on," he urged, opening the door to the police box.

"Alright, but it's going to be a bit cramped in there. Not that _I _mind," I added with a wink.

I stepped inside the box and my heart stopped. It wasn't the tiny wooden set piece I had anticipated. I was standing inside the _actual _TARDIS control room. It was gold, and green, and glowing!

"It's… bigger… on the inside," I stumbled.

"I thought you knew all about my TARDIS?"

"No, I mean, it is _actually_ bigger on the inside! What is going on?" I demanded. "Oh, God… I've actually lost it. Or maybe I died… got hit by a trolley this afternoon."

"You are not dead, I assure you. This is real. Now, can you explain to me how you seem to be _completely_ human, and yet know about Midnight, my sonic screwdriver, and the TARDIS?"

"I learned everything from _your_ show. You know, the one starring _David Tennant_. Doesn't that name ring a bell at all?"

"No. What show, and who is this David person?" he asked.

"Oh for goodness sake! This is David Tennant, _he_, " I emphasize staring at him, "plays the Doctor on Doctor Who."

I pull out my cell phone and unlock it to show him the background. It's a Doctor Who promotional shot of Tennant.

"That's _me!_" he says, surprised.

"I know."

"No, I mean that is _me_… but it isn't. Where did you get that?"

I threw my arms up in frustration.

"I told you it's from Doctor Who. The television show all about the Doctor who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, with his companions, saving the universe."

"Television show? Stay here!" he commands turning to exit the TARDIS.

_Can this be real?_

I approached the TARDIS console and lovingly caressed the controls.

_It feels real._

"Don't touch those!"

I jumped and backed away from the controls as _he_ reentered the police box.

"Right, well, I've figured out what has happened… sort of."

"And?" I asked, extremely curious.

"I, and probably the Ibachi, seemed to have been sucked through a door between parallel universes. In your universe I am just a fictional television character, and in mine, all of this," he gestured the TARDIS control room, "is real."

"Don't you dare get my hopes up!" I demanded, pointing at him. "I have been dreaming, and wishing for something like… _this_ to happen for as long as I can remember. So when you say this is real, you better be telling the truth."

He studied me intently, his face serious.

"I swear to you, everything I just said is true. If you would like to stick around and help me find my way back through, to my universe, I'm sure you'll see along the way I'm not lying."

It took no time for me to decide.

"Yes. I'll help. Of course I'll help," I told him, and then added for myself, "Like I could walk away from even the chance of this being real."

Something began banging on the door of the TARDIS.

"That would be the Ibachi. We should probably move somewhere a bit safer," the Tennant look-alike said, sauntering over to the controls.

He started flipping switches and twisting levers, and I heard it, that familiar engine whooshing sound. The whole room lurched, and I barely caught myself on a railing.

When we came to a stop he offered me his arm, and led me outside.

We were parked in the glow of the London Eye, miles away from where we had just been.

"You're him," I whispered breathlessly, as I looked around. "You're the Doctor!"

I looked up and found him smiling cheekily down at me.

"So I am."


	4. Search for the Source

As hard as I tried, which admittedly wasn't very hard at all, I couldn't prevent my following fangirl moment.

I turned to fully face the Doctor, grabbed both of his hands, and began jumping up and down. I did manage to keep the squealing to a minimum.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod! This… is… AMAZING!" I gushed, throwing my arms around him.

He half returned my hug, awkwardly, patting me on the back while trying to keep the alarm from his face.

"Sorry," I breathed, pulling away. "It's just that… I have always hoped you were real, all the while knowing it was impossible. Even with those things terrorizing the city, this is probably the greatest day of my life."

"Well, then… I'm honored I seem to have made such an… impact, on your life. Though, I do have to warn you, I may not be who you think I am."

"But… you're the Doctor. You've proven that."

"Yes, I am the Doctor, but there is no telling just how accurate the TV show in your universe is. I may not be the Doctor you know," he explained.

I bit my lip as I considered this.

_He seems just like Tennant's Doctor… emphasizes the same words, walks the same walk, and even has the same expressions._

"I guess the best way to test that would be to compare timelines… and trust me, there is nothing I would rather do than sit down and discuss your adventures with you, but I feel we should do something about those Ibachi first."

The Doctor smiled and poked my shoulder with his index finger.

"I like you," he said. "Let's go deal with some interstellar pests!"

"Yay!" I beamed. "What do we do?"

"Hmm… good question. I would say we need to use supersonic wavelengths in order to triangulate the origin of the parallel disruption cataclysm and find a way to nullify and reverse the process," he rushed in one long breath. "Which means—"

"Wait! Let me try! You are going to… use your sonic screwdriver to find what caused the door between universes to open, and then try to find a way to send the Ibachi back through and seal the door."

"Oh, you're quite clever."

"I've watched a lot of Doctor Who."

"Well then, let's get started!"

Then, without any hesitation, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, clicked it on, and started speed walking away while scanning the air. I hurried to keep up. There were so many questions I was dying to ask, but the look of concentration on his face kept me silent.

The streets were deserted. There were no people, or Ibachi, anywhere.

It wasn't until we were passing a little corner shop that I interrupted the Doctor's concentration.

"Wait," I told him, and disappeared into the store.

It took no time to find what I was looking for, and I scurried back outside.

"What did you need?" he asked.

"I thought we could use some more salt, just in case," I said, showing him a bag full of salt canisters.

"Brilliant. Now let's move I think we're getting close."

We kept walking, the hum emitting from his screwdriver was becoming more and more frantic sounding.

"Almost got it," he murmured, eyes glued to the device as we rounded another corner.

"I think we're there," I whispered frantically, and reached out to stop him from continuing forward.

"Why—" his question died on his lips as he looked in front of us.

There were hundreds, possibly thousands, of Ibachi surrounding the Science Learning Centre of London.

The Doctor grabbed my arm and pulled me back around the corner.

"What are they doing here?" I asked. "You said they were pests, how would they know to look for what caused all of this?"

"They _are_ pests," he explained. "That location is emitting a very large amount of energy, and they can sense that. If anything they are like moths around a flame."

"Well, obviously whatever is causing this is inside that science centre. We need to get in there, but how? Do we use the TARDIS?"

"No, no, we can't. The energy coming out of there would throw all of her readings off. There is no telling where we would end up. We'll have to find another way through."

"That sounds promising," I mumbled.

"Come on!" he smiled. "Don't you trust me?"

"Right. Sorry. Of course I trust you, you're the Doctor."

"That's the spirit! Now, where should we start looking?"

I pulled my cell phone back out.

"Here."

Ignoring his puzzled expression I started typing on my phone, and pulled open a search engine.

"These roaming charges are going to be murder," I said to myself.

In almost no time I found what I was looking for and tossed my phone to the Doctor.

"There," I told him. "This building behind us has a glass walkway on the fourth floor that connects to that building over there. And that building over there," I pointed, "happens to share a basement with the Science Center."

"You found all of that in under thirty seconds on your mobile?"

"Gotta love the information age!"

"Indeed. Let's go!"

"Allons-y!" I told him, smirking.

"That's my line," he argued.

"I know."

Inside the first building people were cowering and hiding; huddled up against the walls and packed behind vending machines.

Heads peeked out from around corners when we entered, and whispers followed us.

"Why is he dressed like the Doctor?"

"Doctor Who?"

When we stopped in front of the elevators, someone finally approached us. It was an older man, in business attire.

"What's going on out there?" he asked nervously. "Is it safe? Are those things gone?"

"They all seem to be centered around the Science Centre building," I told him.

"I wouldn't risk going out there just yet," the Doctor warned.

The man studied us for a moment before nodding and quickly returning to where he had been hiding behind a large potted plant.

On the fourth floor we easily found the glass walkway. We crouched low as we made our way across, the Ibachi were directly under us.

The second building had fewer people in it, or, it at least seemed that way. Faces peered out of doorway windows of rooms centered in the building. They withdrew as fast as they appeared, drawing curtains to shield themselves.

The elevator only took us as low as the first floor ad we had to find the stairwell to make it to the basement. The door was locked, but it wasn't anything a little sonic couldn't help.

The Doctor paused at the base of the stairs, just outside of the basement.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Always."


	5. The Lonely Widow

The basement was perfectly silent aside from a faint humming. I wasn't sure if I was actually hearing a hum, or if it was like the ringing you sometimes get in your ears; the sound of silence pressing in on your eardrums.

We moved slowly through the damp cellar, the way lit by several floodlights. The room we were in was empty, but there was a door on the far wall. It was labeled "SCIENCE CENTRE" and padlocked shut.

The lock was no match for the Doctor and we soon found ourselves in the adjacent room: the basement of the Science Center. Boxes were stacked ceiling high all around us, we had to move carefully as to not send the boxes tumbling down on us.

"Can you hear that?" I whispered.

The humming had gotten louder.

"Oh, yeah. There is definitely something powerful above us."

After picking our way through all the storage containers we managed to find the door to the stairwell that would take us up into the Centre.

Each floor the Doctor would poke his head out of the stairwell and run a scan to see if it was the floor we needed. As we climbed the humming grew louder and louder.

"Couldn't have taken an elevator?" I panted as we hit the tenth floor.

"Where's the fun in that? Besides, didn't you notice something when I've checked each floor?"

"No, what?"

"There doesn't seem to be anyone in this building. The whole place is deserted. We don't know how whatever opened the door between universes started, but I doubt it just _happened_. Somebody made this, and that means somebody could be up there acting guard. If we use the elevator in an empty building, we would probably lose our element of surprise."

I sighed heavily, and kept climbing.

It didn't last much longer.

"You're in luck," the Doctor smiled, "this building only has twelve floors, and" he poked his head out of the stairway door, "this is definitely where the energy signal is coming from."

I bit my lower lip and took a deep breath, my nerves finally getting to me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, walking over and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing, it's just— I'm just…" I trailed off.

"It's okay to be scared," he said softly.

"I just always thought I was ready for something like this."

"Even if that show about 'me' is accurate and knows my life, it's just a show. It couldn't have properly prepared you for this moment, even if you want to believe it had. Don't feel ashamed of being frightened… revel in it. It is one of those many amazing things that makes you human."

I gave him a weak smile.

"Now, ready to save your universe?"

"Not quite, but let's do it anyway."

"That's the spirit!" he cheered.

When we exited the stairwell we were in a long hallway, centered almost directly in the middle, and the humming almost doubled in volume. I could feel it reverberate in my teeth.

The Doctor held is sonic screwdriver aloft and used it to lock on the energy source.

"Gotcha," he whispered, and waved me to follow him down the left side of the hall.

We tiptoed along, down the entire length of the hallway before turning right and finding ourselves outside of a large wooden door.

The Doctor gave me look that clearly said 'here we go,' before swinging the door open loudly.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the center of the room. There was a massive machine lugging and whirring away, clearly the source of the humming. It sort of it reminded me of the center of the TARDIS console.

There was a large tube that looked to be made out of a type of crystal, and inside were three pumping metal rods. The crystal tube was coming out of a metal dashboard covered in dozens of buttons and switches, and at the top of the tube there was a dazzling array of dancing colors and lights.

"Who are you? What are you doing in here?"

My attention was pulled away from the machine to a stocky, balding man angrily charging us. He seemed to be in his late forties or early fifties and had a distinctly academic air about him.

"Hello," the Doctor told him, offering a huge grin. He then approached the loud machine and started to pace around it. "Lovely dimensional manipulator you have here. What's it powered by?"

"I—what are— who are you?" the man stumbled.

"I'm the Doctor, this is Amethyst, and we are extremely interested in why you want to tear your world apart."

"What? I'm not trying to tear anything apart! Just opening a door."

"Well," the Doctor drawled, "you see, you're sucking things into your universe that shouldn't be here. Or haven't you looked outside?"

"A small side effect," the man waved his arm, shrugging off the Doctor's words. "The benefits far outweigh that particular downside."

"And what benefits would those be?" I asked, finding my voice.

"Well… to, well, see how far advanced other parallel universes are. To learn from them!" the man exclaimed.

I furrowed my brow.

"It seems to me, that if you built this, we are already further advanced than the other universes. Right? I mean if not we would already have other doors opening from their side."

"Ooh, good one," the Doctor said. "Though it could also be that the other universes _could_ build something like this, but choose not to because they know it is A HORRIBLE IDEA!"

The man jumped back at the outburst.

"I also don't think that is your real reasoning," the Doctor continued. "I can tell when someone is lying, and _oh boy_ are you lying. Why don't we get this machine neutralized, and then have a little chat about the reasons behind your recklessness."

The Doctor again approached the machine, this time reaching out towards the controls. There was a distinctive _click_ from his side, and when I turned to look I saw that the man was holding a cocked handgun, pointed at the Doctor.

"Step away from my controls!" he ordered.

The Doctor slowly raised his hands and began to retreat from the dimensional manipulator.

"Now, now, careful. No need to be hasty. This energy is too unstable to handle a misplaced bullet."

"Shut up!" the man ordered. "Over there, by her!"

He swung the gun my way to signal his wish. My hands shot up automatically and I felt my heart start to pound.

The Doctor came to stand beside me his arms still up.

"Let's just stay calm," he cooed.

"How did you recognize my machine?" the man asked. "Nobody else on this planet is even close to this technology."

"I'm not from this planet," the Doctor said casually.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Why do bad guys always ask stupid questions?" I asked.

"Shut up!" the man shouted. "I'm— I'm not a bad guy. I'm not doing this for b—bad reasons."

"Then why _are_ you doing it?" the Doctor questioned softly.

The man's eyes started to water, and he reached up to wipe away unshed tears with the back of his hand.

"My wife. I'm doing it for my wife," he said.

"Why?"

"She died," he whispered, "but I know she is still out there. Cancer free. I can't cope without her… I need to find her!"

I felt a tiny twinge of sympathy as his words settled on me, but then remembered the people I saw struck down in the street by Ibachi. My sympathy vanished.

"So your intention was to open up a parallel universe, find your wife, and steal her back to _this_ universe, consequences be damned?" the Doctor asked.

"She's worth it," he said doggedly, letting the gun drop a few inches.

"I'm sure she is, but you are putting this entire world at risk. I'm afraid I can't let you do this."

I looked back and forth between the two men; their expressions were so raw, one drowning in sadness, the other pleading for him to understand.

Two seconds too late I saw what was going to happen.

The man's sadness switched to determination and his gun rose up to better aim.

"Doctor, look out!" I shouted, just as the shot fired.

The Doctor fell to a heap on the floor.

"No!" I yelled and dropped to his side. "No!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who have reviewed, I am glad you are enjoying the story! Also, for those of you who are interested, I pronounce Ibachi as E-botch-ee.

One other thing, I am writing this as I go, so if you have any fangirl questions you would like to ask the 'Doctor' feel free to message me, or leave them in the comments and I will try my best to work them into the story! :)


	6. Unearned Guilt

_He has to be fine! He has to!_

"D-Doctor?" I stumbled, voice quivering.

He was groaning loudly and clutching his chest right over one of his hearts_._

"What have you done?" I shouted at the older man.

Shock covered his face and the gun hung limply at his side.

"I— I didn't want to hurt him… but, Carol… my Carol." He whispered. "I need her."

I gave him a disgusted look and turned all of my attention back to the Doctor.

"Doctor, tell me what to do! How do I help you?"

"You can't," he said.

"No, no, no…" my words were so quiet, panic overwhelming me. "There has to be _something._ You can't regenerate yet, I'm not ready for Matt Smith!"

"No, really. There is nothing you can do," his teeth were gritted and he gave me a meaningful look.

When I glanced down at the area of his chest he was clutching I noticed something.

_There wasn't any blood._

When I met his eyes again the Doctor winked. Relief flooded through me and I almost made a smart remark before he elbowed me.

"_Distract him,_" the Doctor mouthed, and the feigned unconsciousness.

"You've killed him," I told the widow as I stood up.

"I—I—"

"That's just one more tally to your list of fatalities today. You have no idea what you have put this city through! The things I saw…"

"I have to get to Carol. I can't— it's supposed to be Carol and Edwin, forever."

"How do you think Carol would feel about all of those people you essentially killed to bring her here? Will that please her? Do you think she'll actually be _proud_ of you?" I asked, slowly walking a circle around him.

He turned unconsciously, following me, and let the Doctor's body out of his line of sight.

"She'll understand, I'll make her," Edwin said, and resolution seemed to settle over him once again. "I want you to go now."

He tightened his grip on the gun in his limp hand.

"No, I'm not leaving my friend."

"He's dead, no need for you to join him."

Edwin raised the gun again, this time aiming at me.

"Wait! You… you could get him back. W-when you go to get Carol."

Behind him, the Doctor quietly stood up and approached the dimensional manipulator's controls.

Edwin let out a derisive snort of laughter.

"You're quite the hypocrite for being so damned judgmental. Why should I save him?"

"He is the best man I have ever known, and the bravest. He deserves so much more than— than _this_," my voice cracked, and I realized that I wasn't faking the sentiment.

The widow's brow creased.

"You care for him, don't you? And I don't mean as a friend."

I wanted to argue, and point out that I really hardly knew the Doctor, but doing so would only raise questions.

"I—yes. I care for him a great deal. I don't know where I would be without him. He has… brightened my whole life. Made me believe in things I never thought possible. He is amazing, and you can save him."

Edwin let the gun droop a little.

"I don't know. It's going to be tricky enough to just save—"

Behind him, the Doctor twisted knobs and flipped switches with ease, causing the machine to grow silent.

Edwin flipped around at the loss of noise, swinging the gun back up. Without giving it a second thought I charged him and tackled him to the floor. The gun went sliding across the tiles and landed at the Doctor's feet. He quickly bent down to scoop the weapon up and dismantled it smoothly, tossing parts all over the room.

"Well, now that we have that settled, what do we do with you?" the Doctor asked, looking down at Edwin.

Edwin shoved me aside and sat up, giving the Doctor a deadly glare.

"You had better kill me, because as soon as you leave I'll turn that machine right back on."

The Doctor gave him a considering look and nodded.

"Right you are. So, maybe…"

The Doctor turned back to the machine, fiddled with the controls once more, and then withdrew his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the large glass cylinder. The cylinder exploded, sending glass shards everywhere. The three metal rods went shooting out at high speed, one lodging into the wall.

"That will slow you down."

"No! No!"

Edwin launched off of the ground, much quicker then you would imagine for a man of his age, and hurled himself at the Doctor. He slipped on a shard of glass from the cylinder and fell forward.

The Doctor reflexively moved out of the way of his attacker, and Edwin fell towards the wall, landing on the metal post jutting from it.

My hands flew up and covered my face as I gasped.

The post had impaled him.

Edwin was dead.

The Doctor looked on in shock.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," he whispered, guilt marring his features.

"It was an accident," I told him. "I know you didn't plan that."

He studied the body for another moment and then, as I had seen him do on so many episodes, he tucked his feelings and guilt away.

"We should get out of here. I need to get back to the TARDIS."

"What happened? Did you fix it, what the machine did?" I asked.

"I patched it. I reversed most of the effects, so the Ibachi have been sent back where they belong. It will be fixed permanently after I return through the door. This universe will be completely sealed off again."

"Oh," I said sadly.

"Let's hurry. I'd like to ask you some questions when we get back."

The Doctor waved towards the door and signaled me ahead of him.

I don't think he realized I glanced back to check on him, and noticed the tear trailing down his cheek as he looked on Edwin's body.


End file.
